Západočeská univerzita v Plzni
Fakulta pedagogická
Katedra anglického jazyka
Diplomová práce
VÝUKA VÝSLOVNOSTI POMOCÍ JAZZ CHANTS V ANGLIČTINĚ NA ZŠ
Lucie Chocová
Plzeň 2013
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University of West Bohemia
Faculty of Education
Department of English
Thesis
TEACHING PRONUNCIATION USING JAZZ CHANTS IN ENGLISH AT ELEMENTARY
SCHOOL
Lucie Chocová
Plzeň 2013
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Prohlašuji, že jsem práci vypracovala samostatně s použitím uvedené literatury a zdrojů informací.
V Plzni dne 26. dubna 2013 ……………………......................
Lucie Chocová
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank the following people without whose help this piece of work would
not have been successfully completed.
Mgr. Danuše Hurtová, my thesis supervisor
Mgr. Irena Šnebergerová, the teacher of English in class 4. C of 14. ZŠ Plzeň, for her
great help with my research
The learners in class 4. C, who enthusiastically participated in my research
Richard McMahon MBA, my language consultant
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ABSTRACT
Bc. Chocová, Lucie. University of West Bohemia, Faculty of Education, April
2013. Teaching pronunciation using Jazz Chants in English at elementary school.
Supervisor: Mgr. Danuše Hurtová
This research paper aims to find out above all if Jazz Chants can help Czech elementary
learners of English improve their pronunciation of the phoneme /w/. The additional aim
is to find out how they feel about Jazz Chants. The subjects of the research were
learners of 4. C class at 14th basic school in Plzeň, ten year old beginner learners of
English. In order to gather data, three research tools were used. The first research tool
was an experiment by means of which Jazz Chants focusing on the phoneme /w/ were
introduced and practised in the class. The main research tool was pedagogical
observation consisting of initial and final testings. The purpose of the testings was to
find out the level of correct pronunciation of the phoneme /w/. While the initial testing
took place before the experiment, the final testing was carried out after it. After the
final testing a simple questionnaire was used as a supplementary research tool to
discover how the learners felt about Jazz Chants.
Outcomes resulting from the testings and from the questionnaire were then analysed and
commented on. Apart from a basis for some other interesting findings they enabled the
research questions to be answered.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ABSTRACT
Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................1
Chapter 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND.................................................................2
2.1 Reasons for choosing the topic........................................................................2
2.2 Pronunciation as an area of language teaching................................................3
2.2.1 Teaching and learning pronunciation................................................3
2.2.2 Pronunciation goals...........................................................................4
2.3 The phoneme /w/.............................................................................................4
2.3.1 The pronunciation of the phoneme /w/ in the Czech language.........5
2.3.2 How to teach to pronounce the phoneme /w/....................................6
2.3.3 Ways of practising and improving pronunciation of the
phoneme /w/...................................................................................7
2.4 Jazz Chants......................................................................................................7
2.5 Teaching English at Czech basic schools (Grades 1 – 9)................................8
Chapter 3: METHOD......................................................................................................11
3.1 Subjects, place and time of the research........................................................11
3.2 Pedagogical observation................................................................................12
3.2.1 Procedure of the observation – Part One........................................13
3.3 Experiment.....................................................................................................15
3.4 Observation – Part Two.................................................................................22
3.5 Questionnaire.................................................................................................23
Chapter 4: RESULTS AND COMMENTARY................................................................24
4.1 Pedagogical observation................................................................................24
4.1.1 Other findings.................................................................................35
4.2 Questionnaire................................................................................................36
Chapter 5: IMPLICATIONS............................................................................................41
5.1 Pedagogical implications...............................................................................41
5.2 Limitations of the research............................................................................41
5.3 Suggestions for further research....................................................................42
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Chapter 6: CONCLUSION.............................................................................................44
REFERENCES................................................................................................................45
APPENDICES.................................................................................................................47
SHRNUTÍ........................................................................................................................58
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Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION
This piece of work deals with Jazz Chants. It aims to find out if using Jazz
Chants in lessons of English can improve the learners´ pronunciation and also how the
learners feel about Jazz Chants.
It comprises of six chapters. The first is called The Introduction and provides a
brief summary of each chapter. The second chapter is The Theoretical Background
and in it different opinions of methodology authors on the chosen topic as well as
theoretical aspects of pronunciation are listed and discussed. The third chapter The
Method provides information about how I undertook the research. The subject of the
research and research tools as well as the way of collecting data are described here.
The next chapter is called The Results and Commentary. It is the most
important part of the work, where the collected data are clearly presented, explained and
commented on. This chapter concludes by answering the research question. The fifth
chapter is The Implications. Pedagogical implications of my work are suggested,
limitations which arose during the research are listed and then further research which
could be undertaken on this topic is proposed here. In the last chapter, The Conclusion,
I remind the reader what I was trying to find out and restate what I discovered.
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Chapter 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
This chapter deals with theoretical aspects of the research. First, I will explain
why I have chosen the topic and how I have arrived at the specific research questions.
Then I will introduce theoretical aspects of both pronunciation of English and teaching
it. Further, I will deal with theoretical aspects of the phoneme /w/ and I will take a look
at various methodology authors´ opinions and suggestions how to deal with possible
problems when teaching pronunciation of this phoneme. As the next step, I will present
Jazz Chants in general and finally I will briefly describe the Czech basic education
system with regards to pronunciation aspects.
2.1 REASONS FOR CHOOSING THE TOPIC
There are two reasons why I have chosen this topic. Firstly, I have been
interested in listening and pronunciation issues for quite a long time. Already the topic
of my undergraduate thesis was “Listening exercises: What are the features of a good
listening exercise?” In my graduate thesis I intend to develop this topic to a greater
depth as Jazz Chants are undoubtedly a form of a listening excercise. At the same time I
have decided to focus on both pronuncing the phoneme /w/ and using it correctly,
because according to my experience this appears to be a common problem of Czech
learners of English.
Secondly, I have already gained some experience with various types of chants.
When I was teaching at primary school, I occassionally used some chants other than
those used in textbooks, usually to consolidate a specific grammar point. To my
surprise, even older learners (sixth and seventh graders) obviously enjoyed them. The
language structures they were exposed to stuck in their minds and the learners were
often able to recall them when it came to the grammar point in some of the next lessons.
Those are the reasons why I have decided to formulate the specific research
questions as follows: Can Jazz Chants help elementary learners improve their
pronunciation of the phoneme /w/? How do the learners feel about Jazz Chants?
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2.2 PRONUNCIATION AS AN AREA OF LANGUAGE TEACHING
How much is pronunciation important? To what extent should it be emphasised?
According to Harmer (2007), “while English language teachers usually put enough
emphasis on teaching grammar, vocabulary and skills, sometimes they do not pay
adequate attention to teaching pronunciation. But in fact pronunciation teaching may
(apart from the others) significantly improve students´ speaking, as well as their
understanding of spoken English” (p. 248). Scrivener (2005) credits overlooking
pronunciation as an area of language teaching partly to the fact, that “teachers
themselves may feel more uncertain about it than about grammar or lexis, worried that
they don´t have enough technical knowledge to help students appropriately” (p. 284).
2.2.1 TEACHING AND LEARNING PRONUNCIATION
There are various ways how the teacher can help the learners improve their
pronunciation. Kenworthy (1987) states that a part of the role of the teacher is to help
the learners hear and then produce sounds correctly, especially those which do not occur
in their native language. The teacher then should provide feedback as learners often
cannot tell if they have pronounced it correctly. He should also provide an assessment of
their progress. Another important task for the teacher is to establish priorities, to show
the learners the essential features of intelligible speech and help them decide what to
concentrate on.
On the other hand it is obvious, that no progress in pronunciation could be made
without learner´s effort and willingness to take responsibility for his or her own learning
(pp. 1-3). Also Harmer (2007) remarks that “the key to successful pronunciation
teaching is not so much getting students to produce correct sounds or intonation tunes,
but rather to have them listen and notice how English is spoken ... The more aware they
are, the greater chance that their own intelligibility leves will rise” (p. 250).
Certainly it is not realistic to expect that all learners are able to acquire the same
level of pronunciation. Kenworthy (1992) lists several factors affecting pronunciation
learning. First of all, it is the native language, namely its sound system in comparison
with the sound system of English. She remarks that “the more differences there are, the
more difficulties the learner will have in pronouncing English” (p. 4). Then it is the age
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factor. Although it is commonly believed that the younger a learner is, the more easily
he is able to acquire a native-like pronunciation, Kenworthy concludes that we do not
yet have evidence for a simple and straightforward link between age and the ability to
pronounce a new language and supports her statement by listing results of several
researches in this field (pp. 4-5).
The next factor she mentions is the exposure to English, the amount of which is
not the only fact that matters. In her opinion, it is also “how the learner responds to the
opportunities to listen to and use English” (p. 6). She also mentions the learner´s
phonetic ability, which she aptly describes as having “a better ear” for foreign languages
than the others, and also motivation and concern for good pronunciation (pp. 4-8).
2.2.2 PRONUNCIATION GOALS
How good should the learner´s pronunciation aim to be? Kenworthy (1987)
states that while some time ago it might have been said that the goal should always be
native-like pronunciation, most people now think that this is an inappropriate goal for
the great majority of learners, who will have a very practical purpose for learning
English and will derive no particular benefit from acquiring a native-like pronunciation
(p. 3).
In connection with this, many authors mention the notion of intelligibility.
Harmer (2007) defines intelligibility as an ability to use pronunciation which is good
enough for the speakers to be always understood, otherwise there is a serious danger
that they will fail to communicate effectively. However, he suggests that “certain
phonological differences (e. g. between /d/ and /ð/) may not be critical to a speaker´s
ability to make themselves understood” (p. 249). On the other hand, some sounds have
to be right if the speaker is to get their message across (for example /n/ as in / s n ŋ/ˈ ɪ ɪ
versus /ŋ/ as in / s ŋ ŋ/. Harmer (2007) also points out the importance of both correctˈ ɪ ɪ
stressing of words and phrases, which is vital for correct understanding of words, and
intonation, which is a vital carrier of meaning (p. 249).
2.3 THE PHONEME /w/
First of all, let´s define a phoneme in general. A phoneme is “the smallest sound
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that can make a difference in meaning” (Underhill, 1994, p. viii). According to
Underhill, the phoneme /w/ is a consonant. He states that consonants, either singly or in
clusters, mark the beginnings and ends of syllables. Vowels occur as the centres or focal
points of syllables, either between consonants or on their own. In his second definition
he states that consonant sounds are made by restricting or blocking the air flow in some
physical way, and this restriction, or the release of the restriction, is what gives the
consonant its characteristic sound. Further, the phoneme /w/ is voiced, i. e. it requires
the vocal cords to vibrate (pp. 29-30). According to the place of articulation, it means
where the sound is produced in the vocal tract, it is bilabial. It means that both lips come
together to block the air stream (p. 35).
However, according to the manner of articulation, i. e. how the sound is
produced in the vocal tract, the phoneme /w/ is often referred to as a semi-vowel. When
pronouncing /w/, there is no restriction to the air flow and so no friction or closure
characteristic of most consonants. In this way the manner of articulation of /w/ is rather
vowel-like (Underhill, 1994, pp. 45-46). Roach (1991) clearly defines this discrepancy
saying that “they (/j/ and /w/) are phonetically like vowels but phonologically like
consonants” (p. 61).
The phoneme /w/ is typically pronounced in words such as what and with but it
also appears in words like one, quarter or queen. /w/ occurs initially but not finally
(Underhill, 1994, p. 46). There are also other ways of pronouncing the phoneme /w/,
such as in words who /hu:/, write /ra t / or ɪ slow /slə ʊ /. However, in my thesis I only
deal with /w/ being pronounced as /w/.
2.3.1 THE PRONUNCIATION OF THE PHONEME /w/ IN THE CZECH
LANGUAGE
Althought there is the grapheme /w/, the phoneme /w/ does not exist in the
Czech language. Klimeš (2002) suggests to pronounce some loanwords commonly used
in the Czech language in the following way:
Wales /vels, vejls/ in English /vejlz/
waltz /valc/
whisky /viski/ (pp. 851 - 852)
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Pokorná and Vránová (2007) state that (apart from usual usage) the vowel /u/
can appear in words with foreign origin, where they are linked with other vowels, such
as U+O (duo /duo/), U+A/Á (manuál /manuál/), U+E (duel /duel/) (p. 786).
To get a clearer idea about this theory, let us compare the pronunciation of these
words:
Czech word: duel /duel/
English word: dwell /dwel/
Although duel is a two-syllable word and dwell is monosyllabic, the
pronunciation of both words approximates. It is obvious that a correct pronunciation of
the phoneme /w/ does not pose a considerable problem for the Czechs.
On the basis of these facts and my own experience I assume that the Czech
learners of English do not have so many problems with pronouncing the phoneme /w/
correctly as using it properly, which means they tend to confuse the use of /w/ and /v/.
According to my observations, it is not unusual to hear utterances such as /wer ɪ vel/
instead of the correct [ver wel], sometimes even at more advanced speakers. In anyɪ
case, the Czech learners of English tend to ignore the /w/ sound in general and replace it
by /v/, which especially applies for beginner learners.
2.3.2 HOW TO TEACH TO PRONOUNCE THE PHONEME /w/
Although the correct pronunciation of the phoneme /w/ does not appear to be
particularly problematic for the Czech learners of English, still it is interesting to
compare several competent approaches to it. Let us take a close look at hints suggested
by various authors.
Ann Baker (1981) instructs to pronounce the phoneme /w/ using the following
method: “First practise /u:/. Make your lips round and hard for /w/. W is a short sound”
(p. 124). Underhill´s (1994) advice is very similar. “… the sound which has the
symbol /w/ is in fact /u/, of very short duration, gliding rapidly to the following vowel.
Try … putting a very short /u/ in place of /w/ in … /uet/ instead of /wet/” (p. 46). Bowen
and Marks (1992) advise the learners to pronounce the phoneme /w/ correctly by a
slightly different suggestion. “Many learners find it difficult to pronounce the
phoneme /w/, particularly in initial position as in would or woman. One solution here is
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to treat /w/ as a combination of the two vowel sounds /u:/ and /schwa/, and to ask the
learners to pronounce each in turn, gradually increasing the speed until they arrive at a
sound that is very close to /w/, if not /w/ itself. Focus particularly on the rounded lip
position at the beginning of the sound” (p. 76).
Bowen and Marks (1992) further suggest how to prevent pronouncing /w/ in
places where /v/ has to be pronounced. “Some learners regularly confuse /w/ and /v/,
producing, for example, /wery/ instead of /very/. One solution is to ask them to bite
(gently!) their lower lip with the upper teeth before pronouncing the /v/ sound. This
should ensure that there is no lip rounding and that /very/ is produced rather than
/wery/” (p. 76).
2.3.3 WAYS OF PRACTISING AND IMPROVING PRONUNCIATION OF THE
PHONEME /w/
Apart from hints how to pronounce the phoneme /w/, various methodology
authors suggest various ways of practising and improving its pronunciation. For
example, O´Connor and Fletcher (1990) compiled a language chart, where they suggest
useful tasks for speakers of particular languages to practise problematic phonemes. To
practise the phoneme /w/, for speakers of Slavonic languages the following tasks are
suggested. “Listen and repeat statements such as: ´William heard something wonderful
last week.´ Make Wh-questions about these statements. Listen and practise (to
distinguish between /b/, /v/ and /w/. ´Bob is very worried about his friends´” (pp. 15,
65-66). Baker (1981) starts the practical part with exercises focused on distinguishing
between /v/ and /w/ - vest or west, veal or wheel. Then she presents a dialog between
Gwen and Wendy about a walk in the woods and lists several exercises based on this
text (pp. 125 – 127). Another way of practising pronunciation are chants, for example
Jazz Chants.
2.4 JAZZ CHANTS
Professor Carolyn Graham (1979) defines that Jazz Chants are the rhythmic
expression of Standard American English. She first developed Jazz Chants as a
language teaching technique at the American Language Institute of New York
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University in 1970´s, first for adults and young adults and then she developed Jazz
Chants for Children (p. v).
Just as the selection of a particular tempo and beat in jazz may convey powerful
and varied emotions, the rhythm, stress, and intonation patterns of the spoken
language are essential elements for the expression of feelings and the intent of
the speaker. Linking these two dynamic forms has produced an innovative and
exciting new approach to language learning. (p. v)
Graham (1979) points out that the Jazz Chants included in her book Jazz Chants
for Children were especially designed for children, since they deal with the topics and
situations which are important to children and enable them to express in English the
many emotions that all children experience. Also the language is the natural language
the children use. Many of the chants are humorous and also fun to do. At the end,
Graham points out that although Jazz Chanting´s primary purpose is the improvement
of speaking and listening comprehension skills, it also works well in reinforcing specific
grammar and pronunciation patterns used in situational contexts relevant to the child´s
experiences. After Jazz Chants and Jazz Chants for Children Graham published other
book, e. g. Grammarchants, Let´s Chant, Let´s Sing, Small Talk or Creating Chants and
Songs (p. v).
Various chants are now parts of modern English textbooks for younger learners,
for example Happy House series, Chit Chat series (to name those which I have some
experience with).
2.5 TEACHING ENGLISH AT CZECH BASIC SCHOOLS (GRADES 1 - 9)
To gain an overall idea about how English is taught at Czech basic schools and
what expected outcomes for pronunciation there are, it is appropriate to briefly describe
the system of Czech basic education. It is best depicted in Rámcový vzdělávací program
pro ZŠ (RVP ZŠ), in English it is Framework Educational Programme for Basic
Education (FEP BE). This is the main curricular document which defines binding
educational norms for Czech primary education.
Czech basic education is the only stage of education that is compulsory to all
pupils. It is organized in two stages that are mutually linked in terms of content
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and organisation, as well as didactically - Stage 1 (grades 1 to 5) and Stage 2
(grades 6 to 9) (FEB BE, 2007, p. 10). The content of basic education within the
education framework is divided into nine, roughly defined educational areas.
Each educational area contains the characteristics of the educational area, the
objectives of the educational area and its educational content. The educational
content comprises the expected outcomes and the subject matter. Expected
outcomes are activity-driven, practically aimed, usable in everyday life and
verifiable. They define the expected competency in applying acquired
knowledge in practical situations and in common life. Within Stage 1, the
educational content is additionally divided into Period 1 (grades 1 to 3) and
Period 2 (grades 4 and 5). This division is meant to help schools distribute the
educational content among the grades. (FEB BE, 2007, p. 16)
To specify this definition, learners in Stage 1 are six to eleven years old.
Learners in Period 1 are then six to nine years old and learners in Period 2 nine to
eleven years old. At the end of Stage 2 learners usually reach the age of fifteen.
“Foreign Language has a weekly time allotment of 3 hours and is compulsory
for grades 3 to 9. If there is pupil interest and parental consent, Foreign Language
teaching may be started at lower grade levels. Pupils must be offered English before
other languages” (FEB BE, 2007, p. 112).
“The requirements for foreign language education set out in the FEB BE are
based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR),
which describes the various levels of language proficiency” (FEB, 2007, p. 19).
“Foreign language education in Stage 1 leads to the acquisition of the A1 level
according to CEFR” (Doporučené učební osnovy předmětů ČJL, AJ a M pro základní
školu, 2011, p. II. AJ - 1). CEFR does not exactly depict the expected outcome of
pronunciation for each level from A1 to C2, however, it defines the phonological control
for the A1 level. “Pronunciation of a very limited repertoire of learnt words and phrases
can be understood with some effort by native speakers used to dealing with speakers of
his/her language group” (CEFR, n. d., p. 117). The expected outcome for Period 2
referring to phonetics according to FEB BE is stated. “Pupils will read a simple text
aloud containing familiar vocabulary; reading is fluent and phonetically correct” (FEB
9
BE, 2007, p. 25).
In this chapter all the relevant background information about the research were
presented. The next chapter will deal with the method used to carry out the research.
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Chapter 3: METHOD
In this chapter I will depict all the relevant information about the subject and
procedure of the research, the research tools and the used materials. I will give a
detailed description of how I carried out the research.
In order to find out if Jazz Chants can improve the learners´ pronunciation, I
have decided to use two main research tools. First, I carried out a pedagogical
observation comprising of initial and final testing of pronunciation and an experiment.
The substance of the experiment was working with Jazz Chants. These were the main
research tools. After that I used an additional research tool which was a supplementary
questionnaire for the learners aiming to find out how the learners feel about Jazz
Chants. The subjects of all three research tools were the learners in 4. C class at 14th
basic school in Plzeň.
3.1 SUBJECTS, PLACE AND TIME OF THE RESEARCH
The research was carried out at 14th basic school in Plzeň in 4. C class in
cooperation with Mgr. Irena Šnebergerová, the teacher of English in this class. There are
10 learners in the tested group, out of which 5 boys and 5 girls, aged 9-10. They have
been learning English as the first foreign language since the 3rd grade, it means this is
their second year. They have an English lesson three times a week. However, the tested
group is a part of 4. C class and the ten learners have been chosen as more gifted in the
English language. Once a week (on Mondays) 4. C class is divided into the two groups
for an English lesson. The group of the more gifted learners undergoes extended English
language teaching while the other group is being taught a regular lesson. During the
other two lessons of English both groups are joined and taught together. The textbook
used in 4. C class is Happy Street 2.
The research was conducted during four consecutive Monday lessons, when the
class was divided into two groups. On the first of these lessons the first part of the
observation was carried out. The second and the third lessons were dedicated to the
experiment and in the last lesson the second part of the observation as well as the
questionnaire were carried out.
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3.2 PEDAGOGICAL OBSERVATION
Průcha, Waltrová & Mareš (2001) define the observation as monitoring of
sensuously perceivable phenomenons, especially people´s behaviour, process of action
etc. (as cited in Chráska, 2007, p. 151). According to the length of duration, there is a
short-term observation, which usually does not last longer than one lesson, and a long-
term observation, which may last up to one school year. The course of the observation
may be direct, when the observer directly meets the subjet of the observation, or
indirect, when the observer is not personally present in the classroom (Chráska, 2007, p.
151). According to the way of observing, Gavora (2000) describes an unstructured and
structured observation. At a structured observation, the observer knows exactly from the
beginning of the observation what and how he will observe. He structures the observed
reality into categories defined in advance. He registers his observations into an
observation sheet, which may look in various ways (p. 76). According to these criteria,
this research can be characterised as short-term, direct and structured.
Chráska (2007) proposes that there are two basic requirements for an
observation which are validity and reliability. An observation is reliable if it actually
observes what it is supposed to observe. The observer has to have a good overall
understanding of the observed item. An observation is valid when it is not influenced by
observational mistakes to a greater extent. This is, to a large extent, a question of
technique (p. 152).
During the observation, the occurence of tested items is registered. The observer
makes a note everytime the observed item is noticed. This procedure is called coding.
The first type of coding is called interval coding. In it, a code of an action is registered
for every time interval of the lesson which usually varies from three to fifteen seconds.
This type of coding may desribe the course of the lesson very exactly. The second type
of coding is called natural coding, when the observer notes down the beginning of the
observed category. Then the frequency of occurence of each category is evaluated and
then interpreted (Gavora, 2000, p. 80). As there was only one observed item in this
research, natural coding was used for registration.
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3.2.1 PROCEDURE OF THE OBSERVATION – PART ONE
This subchapter in detail depicts a sequence of steps which were taken during
the observation. As I have already said, an observation was the first research tool used.
In order to prepare materials and procedure, I first contacted Mgr. Šnebergerová and
consulted with her the learners´ background information, the choice of materials and the
most appropriate strategy of the observation as well as of the subsequent experiment.
We agreed on the procedure of both the observation and the experiment. The second
step was to create all the materials for the observation - the story, worksheets for the
learners, flashcards and an observation sheet. The observation consisted of two parts.
Part One was represented by initial testing of the learners´ pronunciation of the
phoneme /w/ by means of reading a text focusing on this phoneme (the story). Its
objective was to find out and register the level of correct pronunciation of this phoneme.
It was conducted in the first of the four consecutive Monday lessons by me.
Story
I created a simple story (see Appendix 1) for the testing purpose. The story
included 25 words containing the phoneme /w/, all of which the learners were supposed
to be familiar with. This fact was checked with Happy Street 1 and Happy Street 2
textbooks and also with Mgr. Šnebergerová, this means that no new words appeared in
the text. Six words of out the 25 were consequently practised in the four Jazz Chants.
The plot of the story was meaningful and slightly amusing, so that the learners could
enjoy reading it. Besides that, the text was supplemented with pictures at the end of
each sentence. Each learner was given a worksheet with the story on it. In Table1 all the
tested words and the transcription of their pronunciation are listed.
word pronunciation word pronunciation1 queen kwi:n 14 wood w d ʊ2 one w n ʌ 15 always lweizˈɔː3 white wa t ɪ 16 wears weəz4 window w ndə ˈ ɪ ʊ 17 where weə5 queen kwi:n 18 queen kwi:n6 always lweizˈɔː 19 what w t, wətɒ
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7 swinging sw ŋ ŋ ˈ ɪ ɪ 20 swinging sw ŋ ŋ ˈ ɪ ɪ8 swimming sw m ŋ ˈ ɪ ɪ 21 swimming sw m ŋ ˈ ɪ ɪ9 walks w ksɔː 22 sandwich sændw tˈ ɪ ʃ10 wood w d ʊ 23 watching w t ŋɒ ʃɪ11 week wi k ː 24 with w θ ɪ12 when wen 25 Will w l ɪ13 walks w ksɔː
Table 1: A list of the 25 tested words as they appeared in the story and the
transcription of their pronunciation
Flashcards
I created flashcards (see Appendix 2) for the testing purpose. This visual aid was
meant as a motivation to draw the learners´ attention to the story and support
understanding. The pictures were carefully chosen so that the learners knew how to say
the words in English. At the same time they served as a guide through the story. Each
flashcard had a picture and an English word for this picture on it.
Intitial testing (1st lesson)
As already said, the first part of the observation was the initial testing. All ten
learners were present in class. After a brief introduction the learners were told that they
had been recommended by their teacher of English to me as gifted in English and that I
was going to test them on reading and pronunciation. I told them that they would work
with several chants and asked them briefly if they knew what chants were. I was
showing the learners the flashcards while covering words under the picture. The
purpose was to find out if they knew how to say these expressions in English. After they
said the words in English, I uncovered the words. There was always at least one learner
who knew the English word. I asked the learners if they had an idea what the story
might be about, once they had seen the pictures. They guessed quite correctly, that the
story was going to be about a queen with a crown, living in a tower, swimming in the
river and watching TV.
Then I asked the learners if they noticed which sound appeared very often in the
story. They suggested correctly it was /w/ and I told them we would practise its
14
pronunciation. Do they know how to pronounce the words queen and what correctly? I
wrote the two words on the board. Some of the learners were aware that they should
pronounce rather /u/ than /v/. I elicited from them that the same phoneme in both words
is /w/ and that it is pronounced the same in both cases, although it is written differently.
The learners drilled the pronunciation of the two words, first as a whole class and then
individually. I read the story for them, miming and gesturing to support understanding.
The learners were listening only. I elicited some more additional information about the
plot.
As the next step, I handed out worksheets with the story (see Appendix 1) and let
the learners skim through them. Then I read the text again aloud in a slow pace and let
them realize its meaning. Pictures after each sentence supported their understanding. I
made sure that all learners understood the text. While reading, I placed emphasis on
correct pronunciation, particularly of the phoneme /w/, however, I did not explicitly
point out to it. After that the actual testing took place. I asked them to read the text one
by one and while they were reading, I was noting down into an observation sheet (see
Appendix 3) if the pronunciation of the particular tested words was correct or faulty. If
the phoneme /w/ was pronounced correctly, a tick was put in the respective place. If
the phoneme /w/ was mispronounced, then a cross was put. I only registered the
pronunciation of this phoneme in the 25 tested words and I did not register on purpose
other mispronounced words. I did not call the learners´ attention to the fact that the
tested item was the pronunciation of the phoneme /w/. I neither corrected their
pronunciation nor commented on their performance in any way, I only encouraged them
to read on with words such as "Good." or "O. K.". I also did not record their reading
although it would be very convenient for purposes of further research because
unfortunately it is not the policy of the school to record this for future reference. After
the initial testing was finished, I thanked the learners and left the classroom.
3.3 EXPERIMENT
The experiment was the second part of the research. Its objective was to
introduce Jazz Chants to the learners and make them aware of the correct pronunciation
15
of the phoneme /w/. The learners were supposed to listen to the chants three or four
times and then, according to their abilities, gradually start chanting along. Ideally, their
pronunciation of the phoneme /w/ should have improved by the end of the experiment.
When discussing the term of experiment, it would be desirable to define some
more terms. People who take part in the experiment are called subjects. A variable is a
component of the experiment which can be changed, gain various values or qualities.
Pretest is the initial test assigned to the subject before the realisation of the experiment.
Posttest is the final test which is assigned to the subjects after the realisation of the
experiment (Gavora, 2000, p. 125).
Gavora (2000) states that in everyday language the word “experiment”
corresponds to words “trial” or “testing”. However, in the language of science it has a
different meaning. He suggests that an experiment is characterised by the presence of at
least two closely resembling groups of people. These are called the experimental group
and the control group and are exposed to different variables. The variables are
controlled by the experimenter and their effect is evaluated in both groups at the end of
the experiment (p. 125). However, Filosofický slovník Universum (2009) opposes that
while in medical or biological sciences the use of a control group is usually required, in
social sciences the experimenter´s possibilities are usually limited, therefore a
responsible choice of research sample is required (p. 96). This means that a control
group does not have to be used in some cases. According to Gavora (2000), an
experiment is a research method, the power of which lies in the possibility to
systematically manipulate variables. This enables to reveal deeper causal links than
when using descriptive methods, such as questionnaires or tests (p. 125).
In terms of this research, there was only one experimental (tested) group and no
control group. The variable that the subjects were exposed to was represented by Jazz
Chants. Pretest was the initial testing of pronunciation and posttest was the final testing
after the working with Jazz Chants, it means after the realization of the experiment.
The experiment was carried out on the second (Chant 1 and Chant 2) and third
(Chant 3 and Chant 4) consecutive Monday lessons. It was conducted by Mgr.
Šnebergerová. As already mentioned, the materials and procedure of the experiment had
already been agreed on while preparing the observation. I prepared the necessary
16
materials, which consisted of a CD with the four Jazz Chants, worksheets with the text
of the chants and worksheets with lead-in tasks and handed them to Mgr. Šnebergerová.
After each lesson she wrote a detailed description of the course of each lesson for me.
Jazz Chants
I chose the four Jazz Chants from Jazz Chants for Children (Graham, 1979). I
decided on those which included enough words containing the phoneme /w/ so that the
learners could have sufficient practice. At the same time, I tried to choose those
grammatically simple as the learners were expected to focus on pronunciation and not to
struggle with grammar. The chosen chants are also funny and attractive for children
from the content point of view.
The four Jazz Chants are as follows. The below tables list the words containing
the phoneme /w/ and the number of their occurrences in particular chants. This offers a
clear idea how much the words containing the phoneme /w/ were practised.
Jazz Chant 1: I Found a Cow
This chant is rhythmically accompanied to support its rhythmical pattern.
Table 2: Number of occurrences of words containing the phoneme /w/ in Chant 1
Jazz Chant 2: When I Was One
This chant is not rhythmically accompanied.
17
where when wow total occurrences of the phoneme /w/
012345678
3 3
1
7
Chant 1
Table 3: Number of occurrences of words containing the phoneme /w/ in Chant 2
Jazz Chant 3: You Did It Again!
This chant is not rhythmically accompanied.
Table 4: Number of occurrences of words containing the phoneme /w/ in Chant 3
Jazz Chant 4 – Shoes and Socks
This chant has a strong rhythmical accompaniment.
18
when one wasn´t what were was with total occurrences of the pho-neme /w/
05
101520253035404550
16
2 27 7
12
1
47Chant 2
what wear wore total occurrences of the phoneme /w/
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
8
1 1
10
Chant 3
Table 5: Number of occurrences of words containing the phoneme /w/ in Chant 4
It is obvious from the tables that Chant 2 contained far most words containing
the phoneme /w/ - 47.
Chant 1 and Chant 2 (2nd lesson)
Several versions of a plan for working with Chant 1 were composed because it
was not clear how the learners would react to the chants and how they would work. For
example, the teacher was ready to play the chant more times or develop the activities
more. However, the learners worked beyond our expectations so there was no need to
do so. The teacher also flexibly adapted the plan when the learners wished to lead the
chanting (see below).
The learners received worksheets for Chant 1 (see Appendix 4) and were asked
to go through the maze and find a cow. When they finished, the teacher told them:
“Wow, you found a cow!” The teacher elicited the meaning of this sentence. Which
other animals do they know? She presented the words a bear and a hen and the learners
practised the pronunciation. The learners were then divided into three groups (cows,
bears and hens) and listened to Chant 1 for the first time. Whenever they heard “their”
animal, they raised their hands. This was quite funny especially in the final part of the
chant because the three words changed in a very fast pace, therefore the learners did not
manage to raise their hands and put them down again fast enough and it made them
laugh. However, the purpose of this activity was to make them listen for the three words
19
what wear when warm total occurrences of the pho-neme /w/
02468
1012141618
68
2 1
17 Chant 4
only and also put them in the mood for the work with Jazz Chants.
The teacher wrote on the whiteboard: How? Where? When? She elicited the
meaning and asked the learners which words these question words rhyme with (cow,
bear, hen). They practised the pronunciation of the rhyming pairs. Then they listened to
Chant 1 for the second time and tried to say the right question word in the right moment
along with the singer. Most of the learners were successful in it because the chant was
rhythmical and the rhymes were easy to distinguish.
After that, the texts (see Appendix 5) were handed out. The teacher read the
chant rhyme after rhyme and the learners repeated them in unison. Then they
highlighted the rhyming words in their worksheets. They listened to the chant for the
third time. All of them were chanting along the rhyming words and some of them were
trying to chant the whole text. Several learners wished to lead the chanting so the
teacher let two groups (of three girls and of three boys) chant it for the classmates in
front of the desks while the others were chanting the rhyming words only. This was
done without playing the recording as the teacher asumed the pace would be too fast for
them to follow. Still they managed to keep a very good rhythm by clapping their hands
and obviously enjoyed the activity. Finally, they listened to Chant 1 for the fourth time
and that time all of them were chanting along most of the chant.
A pre-listening task before Chant 2 for the learners was to listen for any known
words. After the first listening they reported that they understood numbers (1 – 8) and
some more words such as fun, ski, play or great. The teacher elicited or explained the
meaning of the following structures, using lots of gesturing and miming:
When I was …
I learned to …
What did you do?
When you were …
It wasn´t much fun / It was really great / really heaven / a bore
The learners drilled the pronunciation. The teacher read the chant rhyme after
rhyme and they repeated them in unison. To practise the language, the teacher mimed
three or four activities and the learners guessed: I learned to ski. I learned to swim. I
learned to run. After that, they listened to Chant 2 for the second time. The teacher was
20
signalling the numbers with her fingers so that the learners were able to chant along the
phrases: When I was (one, two, ...). They received the texts (see Appendix 6) and were
asked to highlight the rhyming words (one-fun, do-two, ski-three, ...).
During the third listening to Chant 2 they were already able to chant the
beginning parts with When I was ... and What did you do ...? Two girls wished to lead
the singing then so they chanted the beginning parts When I was ... and the rest of the
class was responding with What did you do ...? Most of them seemed to like it although
they quite struggled with pronunciation of the remaining parts (it wasn´t much fun, it
was really bore etc.). Finally, the learners listened to Chant 2 for the fourth time and
were chanting along quite confidently.
Chant 3 and Chant 4 (3rd lesson)
The learners received worksheets (see Appendix 7). The teacher wrote on the
whiteboard pairs of words break-broke, eat-ate, tear-tore, wear-wore, lose-lost, elicited
their meanings and explained briefly that the second form was the past tense. The
learners were already familiar with the words eat and wear. They filled in their
worksheets and practised pronunciation of the sentences. They listened to Chant 3 for
the first time and after that they reported they identified some of the words that they had
practised. They received the texts (see Appendix 8) and drilled the pronunciation. The
teacher read the chant rhyme after rhyme and they repeated them in unison. While
reading, the teacher was emphasising the correct intonation, which is very strong in this
chant and of course the correct pronunciation of the words containing the phoneme /w/.
The learners then highlighted in their worksheets the pairs of words written at the
whiteboard.
Next they listened to the chant for the second time, chanting only the question
parts (What did I do?). As there was no one wishing to lead the singing as in the
previous two chants, the teacher played the recording again, this time turning down the
volume when it was the learners´ turn to chant. During the final chanting, the teacher
took over the singer´s role and chanted the first parts (I told you not to do it and you did
it again!), pretending she was the learners´ mother blaming them for something. The
learners found this little performance amusing and were chanting their parts very
21
enthusiastically.
The learners received worksheets and did the crossword. Then the teacher asked
them: “What do you wear on you feet / head / hands?”, gesturing a lot to support
understanding. The learners answered appropriately. Then the teacher asked: “Where
do you wear your hat/gloves/socks?” and the learners answered. The teacher then asked
questions beginning with What / Where in a random order to make sure that children
understood them and were able to answer properly. One girl then wished to ask
questions herself and so she did – she asked three or four questions and her classmates
answered.
The learners listened to Chant 4 for the first time. Then the teacher asked them
which words describing body parts or items of clothing they understood in the chant.
Most of them understood a lot and so they were keen on answering. When listening for
the second time, the learners received the texts (see Appendix 9) and were already able
to chant the replies to the questions. As Chant 4 was quite swift, the teacher helped them
by pointing at the relevant body parts and parts of clothing. They particularly enjoyed
chanting Socks. Shoes and socks. Shoes and socks. The teacher did not require the
learners to chant the question parts of Chant 4 and neither the learners themselves
wanted to try it saying it was too fast and difficult. Instead, the teacher took the singer´s
role, chanted the question parts and the learners were answering. They were clapping
the beat together. At the end, the learners listened to the recording of Chant 4 again and
chanted along.
As the last step, the teacher asked the learners if they could recall the previous
three chants. As an answer, the learners started chanting them spontaneously, most of
them Chant 1 (I Found a Cow). Before playing each chant, the teacher reminded them
the words. The learners obviously enjoyed the chants and were chanting quite
confidently.
3.4 OBSERVATION – PART TWO
Part Two of the observation was represented by the final testing of the learners´
pronunciation of the phoneme /w/ by means of reading the same story as in the initial
testing. Its objective was to find out and register the level of correct pronunciation of
22
this phoneme after practising Jazz Chants. The materials used in the second part of the
observation were the same as in the first part, consisting of worksheets with the story,
flashcards and an observation sheet (see Appendices 1 - 3). It was conducted by me in
the fourth lesson of the research, together with the questionaire. Nine learners were
present in class (one was absent).
At the beginning of the lesson I reminded the learners all the four chants by
playing them. I did not instruct them to chant along but they started chanting
spontaneously. After that I asked them if they still remembered the short story and
showed them the flashcards. They were spontaneously saying some phrases and
sentences from the story when they saw the pictures. Then I read the story again for
them, handed out the worksheets and did the final testing. Again, the learners read the
texts one by one and I was noting down into the observation sheets the correct or
incorrect pronunciation of the phoneme /w/ in the tested words while they were reading.
3.5 QUESTIONNAIRE
Gavora (2000) defines a questionnaire “as a way of written asking question and
gaining written answers” (p. 99).
The questionnaire was a supplementary research tool and it was created by me.
Its objective was to find out how the learners felt about Jazz Chants. The only material
used was the questionnaire form (see Appendix 10).
I handed out the questionnaires after the final testing had been finished and
asked the learners to fill them in. I reminded them that the questionnaires were for the
research purpose only, anonymous and so they did not have to sign them. I also asked
them not to copy but express their own opinion. After the learners completed the
questionnaires, I collected them and as a thankyou for their cooperation in the whole
research I distributed them some sweets.
This chapter brought some general information about the method used in the
research as well as a detailed description of the lessons. In the following chapter the
results of the research will be clearly presented, interpreted and commented on.
23
Chapter 4: RESULTS AND COMMENTARY
In this chapter the results of the observation and the questionnaire will be
presented by means of tables and graphs, then interpreted and finally my comments on
them will be offered. Apart from them, some other interesting facts which were
observed when carrying out the research will be presented and commented on, too.
The experiment as one of the research tools did not provide any data for interpretation.
Finally, the research questions will be answered on the basis of the results.
4.1 PEDAGOGICAL OBSERVATION
The observation consisted of two parts. Part One was conducted at the beginning
of the research and was represented by the initial testing of the learners´ pronunciation.
Part Two consisted in final testing of pronunciation and was carried out after Jazz
Chants had been practised, it means after the experiment. In Part One 10 learners were
present. However, one boy was absent from Part Two, therefore his results from the
initial testing were excluded from the statistics. As a consequence, further on I only deal
with the results of nine learners. Graph 1 shows the proportion of girls to boys.
Graph 1: Proportion of girls to boys
Results from the initial and final testings were gathered from nine learners, out
of which four were boys and five were girls. It is obvious that the proportion of boys
and girls is balanced in the group.
24
556%
444%
Proportion of girls to boys
girlsboys
A B C D E F G H I♀ ♀ ♀ ♂ ♂ ♂ ♀ ♂ ♀
♀ - a girl ♂ - a boy
Table 6: Proportion of girls to boys
For distinction, the learners are referred to with letters from A to I throughout the
text.
Next, Table 7 and Table 8 are presented. They are actually completed
observation sheets for the initial and final testings. They present a general overview of
all the tested words and all the learners. If the phoneme /w/ was pronounced correctly, a
tick was put in the respective place. A cross indicates mispronounced phoneme
/w/ in the particular word. As there were 25 tested words and nine learners, it means that
there were 225 occurrences of the tested words in total during each testing.
Further, the total percentage and number of correctly pronounced individual
words is shown on the right side of the tables and also the percentage and number of the
tested words correctly pronounced by individual learners. This can be called a success
rate and is shown at the bottom of the tables.
The lowest line is called a final position and it shows how well the learners were
doing. The learner who took 1st place pronounced the most tested words correctly.
Table 7 and Table 8 are the basic outcomes of the research and all further
commentaries result from them.
25
A B C D E F G H I
correctly prounounced
words
% no.
queen 67% 6
one 78% 7
white 78% 7
window 67% 6
queen 56% 5
always 11% 1
swinging 44% 4
swimming 33% 3
walks 22% 2
wood 22% 2
week 11% 1
when 44% 4
walks 33% 3
wood 33% 3
always 33% 3
wears 22% 2
where 33% 3
queen 44% 4
what 44% 4
swinging 22% 2
swimming 33% 3
sandwich 56% 5
watching 33% 3
with 33% 3
Will 22% 2
correctly prounounced
words
% 40% 24% 36% 64% 80% 72% 20% 8% 8%
no. 10 6 9 16 20 18 5 2 2
final position 4th 6th 5th 3rd 1st 2nd 7th 8th - 9th 8th - 9th
Table 7: Results of the initial testing
26
A B C D E F G H I
correctly prounounced
words
% no.
queen 56% 5
one 100% 9
white 100% 9
window 100% 9
queen 22% 2
always 11% 1
swinging 22% 2
swimming 33% 3
walks 33% 3
wood 33% 3
week 33% 3
when 67% 6
walks 44% 4
wood 22% 2
always 22% 2
wears 33% 3
where 78% 7
queen 67% 6
what 89% 8
swinging 44% 4
swimming 33% 3
sandwich 33% 3
watching 67% 6
with 89% 8
Will 33% 3
correctly prounounced
words
% 28% 60% 52% 68% 88% 60% 36% 24% 40%
no. 7 15 13 17 22 15 9 6 10
final position 8th 3rd - 4th 5th 2nd 1st 3rd - 4th 7th 9th 6th
Table 8: Results of the final testing
27
As one of the aims of the research was to find out if Jazz Chants can help
learners improve their pronunciation, it appears to be appropriate to compare results of
both initial and final testings from various points of view. They are closely related and
in my opinion, they should be analysed together. A comparison of both tables
undoubtedly provides several interesting possibilities of interpretation which I will now
present, interpret and comment on.
For example, the results can be analysed from the point of view of particular
learners. Graph 2 shows if the individual learners´ pronunciation improved or worsened.
Graph 2: Correctly pronounced tested words - individual learners
Table 7 shows that seven learners´ pronunciation of the tested words improved,
in two cases very significantly (increase by 36% and 32% of correctly pronounced
tested words). On the other hand, in two cases the pronunciation worsened by 12%.
Comments:
We can observe an overall slight or fairly significant improvement and only a
not very significant worsening by 12%, which is represented by three words. The
worsening meant for Boy F a drop from the 2nd final position to the 3rd – 4th. However,
Girl A dropped by four grades – from the 4th to the 8th position (for final positions see
Table 7 and Table 8).
Now a logical question may arise: who was better at pronunciation – boys or
girls? In the following part the boys´ and girls´ results are presented in separate graphs.
28
40%
24%36%
64%
80%72%
20%8% 8%
28%
60%52%
68%
88%
60%
36%24%
40%
-12%
36%
16%4% 8%
-12%
16% 16%
32%
-20%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
A B C D E F G H I
learner
Correctly pronounced tested words - individual learners
initial testing final testing improvement / worsening
Graph 3: Correctly pronounced tested words - boys
Graph 4: Correctly pronounced tested words - girls
Graph 3 and Graph 4 show that the four boys´ pronunciation differed a lot when
comparing their performances mutually (the boys D, E and F being the “top three” and
the boy H being the last). On the other hand, it practically remained the same with
respects to their final positions after both initial and final testings. The girls´
performance does not show as big difference the boys´ perfomance.
Comments:
Mgr. Šnebergerová confirmed that the performance of the boy H in English is
fairly poor in general, which might explain his results. However, his pronunciation still
29
A B C G I-20%
0%
20%
40%
60%
40%
24%
36%
20%
8%
28%
60%52%
36% 40%
-12%
36%
16% 16%
32%
Correctly pronounced tested words - girls
initial testingfinal testingimprovement / worsening
learner
D E F H-20%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
64%
80%72%
8%
68%
88%
60%
24%
4% 8%
-12%
16%
Correctly pronounced tested words - boys
initial testingfinal testingimprovement / worsening
learner
slightly improved (8% and 24% of correctly pronounced words in the initial and final
testing). From the tested group´s point of view we can call the girls´ pronunciation
average, it was somewhere between the best and the worst boys´ performance and
except the girl A their final positions did not change much. Regarding all these results
we could say that boys pronounce better than girls do but I think that the representative
sample of nine learners does not give sufficient information to make definite
conclusions. It only applies for this group in this particular research. Nevertheless, a
comparison of girls´ and boys´ performance might be a suitable topic for further
research.
After the results from the learners´ point of view have been examined, let us take
a close look at particular tested words. We can analyse them and try to deduce some
conclusions. For example, we can decide, which one was the “most successful”, it
means which appeared to be least problematic for the learners and was pronounced
correctly most often. Table 9 shows a comparison of correct pronunciation of particular
tested words in the initial and final testings.
30
31
Graph 5: Results of the initial and final testing
The well arranged graph clearly depicts that the words correctly pronounced
most often were one, white, window, what, with and where (100% - 78%), namely in the
final testing. Pronunciation of all the words except queen, swinging, wood, always and
sandwich improved.
Comments:
It is evident that the best pronounced words are those most frequently used in
everyday life. From the learning point of view, they are basic words from vocabulary
areas that the learners come across in the initial parts of their learning (colours,
numbers, question words, prepositions). We can suppose that they are familiar with
them.
In my opinion, the main and the most important result is the number of the tested
words correctly pronounced by all learners during both initial and final testings. Their
comparison indicates if the research was successful or not and, in fact, it answers the
research question Can Jazz Chants help primary learners improve their pronunciation
of the phoneme /w/?
Graph 6: Correctly pronounced tested words of all learners – initial testing
32
Graph 7: Correctly pronounced tested words of all learners – final testing
It is obvious at first sight that the number of 88 correctly pronounced tested
words in the initial testing increased by 26 and in the final testing reached the number of
114. The number of 26 represents 12% from the total of 225 tested words.
Comments:
These results indicate that the pronunciation of all the tested words improved in
average. In my opinion, it entlitles us to claim that the credit for this improvement can
be attributed to Jazz Chants. On the base of this result it can be concluded that working
with Jazz Chants actually did help the learners improve their pronunciation of the
phoneme /w/.
Finally, I will analyze if there is a direct connection between practising the
words containing the phoneme /w/ in Jazz Chants and potential improvement of their
pronunciation. Let us take a close look at the words which appeared in the story and at
the same time they were practised in Jazz Chants. How much has the learners´
pronunciation of these words improved?
33
Graph 8: Correctly pronounced tested words practised in Jazz Chants
Note: Some of the words appeared in the chants many times, some of them only
once or twice. The tested words occurring in the chants and the number of their
occurrence are listed in the subchapter 3.3 EXPERIMENT.
The results show that the pronunciation of words actively practised in Jazz
Chants increased in all cases. The increase varies from 11% (wear / wears) to 56%
(with). The pronunciation of the word one only increased by 22%, on the other hand its
success rate in final testing was 100%.
Comment s :
Not surprisingly, it turned out that the learners´ pronunciation of all the words
which had been practised in Jazz Chants improved, sometimes very significantly. While
the success rate of pronunciation of all the tested words increased by 12%, the success
rate of pronunciation of the particular tested words practised in Jazz Chants increased
by 34% in average. This is quite an imposing number, but not unexpected, if we
consider, how many times the learners heard and pronounced the words during working
with Jazz Chants. I think it is a fair evidence that the more practice the learners have,
the better their results are, which of course does not apply for this research only but in
general. Besides that, all of these words (maybe except of wear) are very frequent and
the learners are likely to pronounce them hundreds of times in the future. If Jazz Chants
learnt during this research helped the learners improve it, I think it can be considered an
additional merit.
34
78%
44%
22%33%
44%33%
100%
67%
33%
78%89% 89%
22% 23%11%
45% 45%56%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
120%
one when wear / wears where what with
word
Correctly pronounced words practised in Jazz Chants
initial testing final testing improvement / worsening
4.1.1 OTHER FINDINGS
The purpose of the research was to test the learners´ pronunciation of the
phoneme /w/ in the tested words. However, I spotted some other interesting facts whilst
they were reading, that are worth describing and commenting on.
The girl C was reading quite fast and confidently during both initial and final
testing. However, her pronunciation was very “Czech-like”. As I noticed, in general, she
failed to pronounce most typical English phonemes which do not appear in the Czech
language, such as /ð/, /θ/ or /æ/ and also /w/. As a result, her score was quite low.
On the other hand, the boy E was reading very slowly, I would say with
deliberation. He often paused when reading and corrected himself. Yet his pronunciation
sounded much more natural and “English-like” and he was also the most successful in
pronouncing the phoneme /w/ correctly in both initial and final testings.
Comment s :
The results show that reading fast and confidently does not automatically mean
that the learners will read well. I think that despite the low speed of reading, the boy E
showed he had “a better ear” for foreign languages (Kenworthy, p. 4-8). The girl C´s
pronuncion was perfectly intelligible for the “Czech ear”, however, I believe she might
have considerable problems to be understood by native English speakers. In comparison
with her pronunciation, the boy E would probably be more intelligible for a native
speaker.
Learners were above average successful in pronouncing correctly a phrase one
white window (78%, 78% and 67% in initial testing, 100%, 100% and 100% in final
testing).
Comment s :
It seems that a close location of the tested items, moreover with the phoneme /w/
at the beginning, helped the learners to pronounce them correctly. In other words, a
positive transfer came in useful.
Many of the learners failed to pronounce correctly the words very and every in
35
the phrases always very happy and in the wood every week. They pronounced / wer ˈ ɪ /
and / ewr /.ˈ ɪComment:
The reason for this phenomenon is the same as in the previous case. The
phoneme /w/ in words preceding the words very and every negatively influenced the
learners´ pronunciation of these words. This phenomenon is called interference.
However, it was not a subject of investigation, therefore I did not register it.
The learners often confused the words swing and swim so that they read She
likes swimming in the garden and swimming in the river.
Comment s :
This mistake is quite understandable as both words look similar and the phrase
swim in the garden might seem meaningful to the learners. Anyway, this fact was not
important for me as the subject of my testing was the phoneme /w/ and I did not correct
their pronunciation.
The learners often incorrectly pronounced the word with as if it was witch. At
this point Mgr. Šnebergerová corrected them several times.
Comment s :
Mgr. Šnebergerová confirmed after the lesson that this was a very common
mistake the learners made. She also stated that another pair of words easily confused
was kitchen and chicken. I agree with her, those words might seem very similar to the
learners. Besides that, based on my own experience, with and witch sometimes causes
troubles even to adult learners.
4.2 QUESTIONNAIRE
The questionnaire was a supplementary research tool and the learners filled it in
after the final testing. They were told they did not have to sign their names. When
answering Question 2, they could tick or write more answers. They were also asked to
be honest and write their own opinions (for the original version as well as the English
translation see Appendix 10). All nine learners present in class filled them in.
36
Graph 9: Questionnaire - results of Question 1
The majority of 67% of learners liked the chants quite a lot. 11% did not like
them very much and one did not like them much. Nobody disliked them.
Comments:
Most learners stated that they liked the chants quite a lot. This is good because it
would be difficult to expect them all to like it. Still certain space remains to make chants
more attractive for the learners so that they perceive them even more positively.
Graph 10: Questionnaire - results of Question 2
37
222%
667%
111%
00%
1. Did you like the songs (chants)?
very much
quite a lot
not much
not at all
2
6
0 0
3
12
2
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
rhythmical entertaining boring difficult other -specify
I have learnt new
words
I have learnt
something else
2. What were they like?
Altogether they stated that they had learnt 12 new words, such as swing (3
times), gloves (twice), hen (once), garden (3 times), crown (twice) and queen (once).
They also stated they had learnt to sing English songs or recite English poems.
Comments:
Most learners thought that the chants were entertaining. This is good because
they are in general intended as a natural didactic tool. The learners are supposed to learn
various aspects of language without thinking about them too much. When Mgr.
Šnebergerová checked the completed questionnaires, she was a bit angry with the
learners saying that they should definitely be familiar with words such as glove, garden
or crown. Some learners said that these were newly learnt words. It is possible that they
have already forgotten them and were reminded of them again when working with Jazz
Chants.
3. Mark the chants according to your preference (1 – 5, as if at school :)
Graph 11: Questionnaire - results of Question 3
Notes: 1* or 1 is a mark of a particularly high performance
1- is a mark of a slightly worse performance than that marked with 1
3-4 marks a limit performance between 3 and 4
38
445%
333%
222%
I Found a Cow
1* or 1
1
2
111%
223%
222%
111%
111%
111%
111%
When I Was One
1*
1
1-
2
3
4
5
111%
222%
111%
334%
111%
111%
You Did It Again
1*
1
1-
2
3
5
111%
222%
222%
334%
111%
Shoes and Socks
1*
1
1-
2
3-4
The four graphs present the learners´ preference for particular chants. Only two
marks of 5, one mark of 4, one mark of 3-4 and two marks of 3 were given. The rest of
the chants were assessed marks 1 or 2.
When analysing the results of Question 3, I decided to take account of “partial”
marks which the learners had awarded the chants. The mark of 1- was given weight of
1.25 points and the mark of 3-4 was given weight of 3.5 points. After taking this into
account the results showed the following.
chant average mark
Jazz Chant 1: I Found a Cow 1.2Jazz Chant 2: When I Was One 2.1Jazz Chant 3: You Did It Again! 2.0Jazz Chant 4: Shoes and Socks 1.7
Table 10: Average mark - all chants
Comments:
The results show that the learners perceived the chants quite positively and apart
from a very few exceptions they assessed the chants with good marks. Still it is obvious
that they preferred some chants to others. Chant 1 and Chant 4 were assessed slightly
better. I assume it is due to the rhythmical accompaniment which was fairly strong and
Mgr. Šnebergerová confirmed that the learners appeared to be chanting these two chants
more enthusiastically. No two questionnaires were the same, it proves that the learners
were not copying and expressed their own opinions.
I instructed the learners that they did not have to sign the questionnaires as I
supposed that the feeling of anonymity would enable them to express their opinions
more openly. Accordingly, they did not sign them, except two girls. Now a question
arises, what would happen if they were asked to sign them. Maybe some more
interesting findings would arise when analysing the learners subjective feelings about
the chants with regard to their objective performance in initial and final testings.
On the basis of results in Table 10 we can also answer the second research question:
How do the learners feel about Jazz Chants? As I think that if the worst average mark
39
assessed by the learners was 2.1, it can be concluded that the learners feel Jazz Chants
positively, as a useful and entertaining part of an English lesson.
40
Chapter 5: IMPLICATIONS
In this chapter I will state what I consider to be the pedagogical implications of
my work. Then I will analyse limitations of the research and finally I will outline some
possibilities for further research on this topic.
5.1 PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS
The results of this research confirmed that Jazz Chants may present a valuable
tool to enhance learners´ pronunciation. As they are a form of listening exercise, their
pedagogical implications are much the same as those of listening exercises. Also similar
rules should be followed when conducting a Jazz Chant activity. This means that
learners should listen to chants more times, at least three or four times, but ideally as
many times as necessary. They should have no texts available during the first listening
otherwise it would turn into more reading than a listening activity. Successful
conducting of Jazz Chants also requires some kind of a lead-in activity to pre-teach
vocabulary and set the context.
Jazz Chants can be, by their very nature, attractive for the learners. They
represent a complex activity. Lexical, grammatical and phonological aspets are well-
balanced and presented in a natural context, and can therefore enhance the learners´
awareness of the language as a whole. Apart from that, they are invaluable in terms of
teaching various aspects of pronunciation, such as connected speach, vowel reduction,
word stress or intonation. The learners seemed to preferr the chants which were
rhythmically accompanied.
It was useful to take advantage of children´s natural curiosity and enthusiasm
and let them actively participate in the lesson. This became apparent during the situation
when some learners wanted to lead the chanting for their classmates or ask them
questions during practising Chant 4 (Shoes and Socks). Such an approach stimulates
learners´ activity and increases effectiveness of teaching.
5.2 LIMITATIONS OF THE RESEARCH
Although the research was planned with as much care as possible, certain
limitations showed up during it. The most limiting factor of the research was a relatively
41
low number of learners in the tested group and this is the main reason why the
conclusions cannot be generalised too much. A bigger representative sample would have
certainly provided a more reliable basis for conclusions. Furthermore, the period of four
lessons (actually only parts of them) was rather limiting, too. Ideally the time for
working with the chants should have been extended. Unfortunately it was not possible
for this research.
Obviously, it would be more appropriate if the learners could have been
recorded. Although simultaneous registration of the results was carried out reliably, it
might be interesting to keep the recording for future reference – either for the purpose of
future research or for the learners themselves to listen to their own reading after some
time (e. g. one year).
Next, it should be pointed out that Jazz Chants originally express Standard
American English. We should realize the many ways in which American English differs
from British English, especially in pronunciation but also in grammar or vocabulary.
This fact has to be taken into consideration when choosing the aspect of language we
want to focus on. However, in terms of this research this difference did not represent
any limitation because the phoneme /w/ is pronounced the same in both British and
American English.
5.3 SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
Apart from limitations, also several ideas for further research arose during
working with Jazz Chants, which are worth mentioning here.
It might be interesting to carry out the additional testing after practising some
more Jazz Chants. A comparison of three outcomes would probably give very
interesting and more reliable conclusions.
As it was said in The Method chapter, the learners in the tested group were more
gifted in English. The observation using the very same materials and method could also
be carried out in other classes, e. g. a normal or even mixed-ability class.
Another suggestion is to engage a native speaker in the research, especially in
assessment of the learners´ performance. The native speaker´s ear might be able to
precisely distinguish and evaluate more subtle nuances in pronunciation of phonemes
42
such as /ð/, /θ/, /əʊ/ or /æ/, which may also be potentially problematic for Czech
learners of English.
More experienced users of chants may find it challenging to create their own
chants or songs. Graham (2006) offers detailed instructions in her book Creating
Chants and Songs.
This chapter outlined pedagogical implications of the research as well as its
limitations and briefly described some suggestions for further research. The last chapter
will summarise the main results.
43
Chapter 6: CONCLUSION
The topic of this thesis were Jazz Chants and their use in teaching pronunciation
to Czech primary learners of English. The research focused on correct pronunciation of
the phoneme /w/ at fourth graders. Pedagogical observation was carried out to test the
learners´ initial level of pronunciation of the phoneme /w/. Then an experiment was
conducted. Its content was to teach four Jazz Chants focusing on words containing the
phoneme /w/ to the learners in order to improve their pronunciation of this phoneme.
Then the second part of observation was undertaken. It aimed to find out by means of
final testing if the learner´s pronunciation of the phoneme /w/ improved. As the last
step, the learners completed a small questionnaire which aimed to find out their feeling
about Jazz Chants. The questionnaire was the third research tool.
The learners showed a high level of interest in Jazz Chants, they actively
participated in the lesson and in the supplementary questionnaires they evaluated Jazz
Chants on the whole positively. Findings from the objective analysis of the observation
results show that the success rate of pronunciation of all the tested words increased by
12%. However, the success rate of pronunciation of the particular tested words practised
in Jazz Chants increased by 34% in average. In my opinion, this result proves usefulness
and effectiveness of Jazz Chants as a part of language teaching in terms of enhancing
the learners´ pronunciation. Nevertheless, some interesting issues arose during
conducting the research which may present suggestions for further work with Jazz
Chants and for further research.
44
REFERENCES
Baker, A. (1981). Ship or Sheep? An intermediate pronunciation course (2nd ed.).
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bowen, T., Marks, J. (1992). The Pronunciation Book: Self-centred activities for
pronunciation work. Harlow: Longman Group UK Limited.
Chráska, M. (2007). Metody pedagogického výzkumu: Základy kvantitativního výzkumu.
Praha: Grada Publishing, a. s.
Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching,
assessment (CEFR). (n. d.). Retrieved from
http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistic/Cadre1_en.asp
Doporučené učební osnovy předmětů ČJL, AJ a M pro základní školu. (2011). Praha:
MŠMT.
Filosofický slovník Universum. (2009). Praha: Knižní klub.
Framework Education Programme for Basic Education. (2007). Praha: VÚP. Retrieved
from http://www.msmt.cz/vzdelavani/framework-education-programme-for-
basic- education
Gavora, P. (2000). Úvod do pedagogického výzkumu. Brno: Paido.
Graham, C. (1979). Jazz Chants for Children. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Graham, C. (2006). Creating Chants and Songs. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Harmer, J. (2007). The Practice of English Language Teaching. Harlow: Pearson
Education Limited.
Kenworthy, J. (1987). Teaching English Pronunciation. Harlow: Longman Group UK
Limited.
Klimeš, L. (2002). Slovník cizích slov. Praha: SPN – pedagogické nakladatelství,
akciová společnost.
O´Connor, J. D., Fletcher, C. (1990). Sounds English. A pronunciation practice book.
Harlow: Longman Group UK Limited.
Pokorná, J., Vránová, M. (2007). Přehled české výslovnosti. Praha: Portál.
Roach, P. (1991). English Phonetics and Phonology (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
RVP ZV. (2013). Retrieved from http://digifolio.rvp.cz/view/view.php?id=6435
45
Scrivener, J. (2005). Learning Teaching. Oxford: Macmillan Publishers Limited.
Underhill, A. (1994). Sound Foundations. Oxford: Macmillan Publishers Limited.
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APPENDICES
Appendix 1 – Story
47
Appendix 2 – Flashcards (part 1)
48
Appendix 2 – Flashcards (part 2)
49
Appendix 3 – Observation sheet
A B C D E F G H I J
queen
one
white
window
queen
always
swinging
swimming
walks
wood
week
when
walks
wood
always
wears
where
queen
what
swinging
swimming
sandwich
watching
with
Will
50
Appendix 4 – Chant 1 - worksheet
51
Appendix 5 – Chant 1 – text
52
Appendix 6 – Chant 2 – text
53
Appendix 7 - Chant 3 – worksheet
54
Appendix 8 – Chant 3 - text
55
Appendix 9 – Chant 4 – text
56
Appendix 10 – Questionnaire
1. Líbily se ti popěvky (chanty)? Zakroužkuj:hodně moc – docela ano – moc ne - vůbec ne
2. Jaké byly?rytmickézábavnénudnéobtížné(jiné – napiš jaké) …...............................................................................................naučil/a jsem se nová slovíčka, například:.............................................................naučil/a jsem se něco jiného: ….............................................................................
3. Oznámkuj chanty podle toho, jak se ti líbily (1 – 5, jako ve škole)I Found a Cow známka:When I Was One známka:You Did It Again známka:Shoes and Socks známka:
Questionnaire – English translation
1. Did you like the songs (chants)? Circle:very much – quite a lot – not much – not at all
2. What were they like?
rhythmical
entertaining
boring
difficult
(other – specify) …............................................................................
I have learnt new words, for example: …......................................................................
I have learnt something else: …......................................................................
3. Mark the chants according to your preference (1 – 5, as if at school :)
I Found a Cow mark:
When I Was One mark:
You Did It Again mark:
Shoes and Socks mark:
57
SHRNUTÍ
Úkolem této práce je v prvé řadě zjistit, zda Jazz Chants mohou pomoci českým
studentům angličtiny na prvním stupni ZŠ zlepšit výslovnost hlásky /w/. Dalším cílem
je pak zjištění, co si žáci o Jazz Chantech myslí. Předmětem výzkumu byli žáci třídy
4.C na 14. ZŠ v Plzni, desetiletí začátečníci. Ke shromáždění dat byly použity tři
výzkumné nástroje. Prvním byl experiment, jehož pomocí se ve třídě uvedly a
procvičily Jazz Chanty zaměřené na hlásku /w/. Hlavním nástrojem pak bylo
pedagogické pozorování sestávající z úvodního a závěrečného testování. Účelem obou
testování bylo zjištění úrovně správné výslovnosti hlásky /w/. Zatímco úvodní testování
proběhlo před experimentem, závěrečné se uskutečnilo po něm. Po závěrečném
testování žáci vyplnili jednoduchý dotazník, který zjišťoval, co si žáci o Jazz Chantech
myslí. Výsledky vyplývající z obou testování a dotazníku byly zanalyzovány a
okomentovány. Kromě toho, že posloužily jako východisko pro učinění některých
dalších zajímavých zjištění, umožnily zodpovědět výzkumné otázky.
58